


See Through My Disguise

by Haleykim84 (tristen84)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Hurt Keith (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-27
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-10-17 22:14:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17568902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tristen84/pseuds/Haleykim84
Summary: Hunk's not feeling like himself. It's Keith who pays the price.





	See Through My Disguise

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Bad Things Happen Bingo.
> 
> A special thank you, as always, to Black Friar for the beta!

"Okay, now take a left, and then the next right. There should be a cargo hold."

Keith skidded around the last corner, barely sparing a second to check for enemies first, then abruptly stumbled to a halt.

Okay. That wasn't a simple cargo hold.

"Uh…Pidge? I'm seeing a lot of doors. Rows and rows of them. Could be cells or labs or something. It's gonna take time checking them all."

"Quiznak, why do people not update their blueprints?" Pidge muttered over the comms. "They must've converted their cargo bay to holding cells or something. Okay, I'm sending Allura to your location to help with the search."

"Roger that. Have the others turned up anything yet?"

"Negative."

Keith scowled, fist clenching around his bayard. They were running out of time. _Hunk_ was running out of time. They had to find him, and fast.

He ran to the nearest door, and was relieved to find a peep hole near the top. Of course, he had to jump to be able to actually reach it, which took extra time, but better that than having to break down every door just to see what was inside.

Most of the rooms were empty, and they weren't all holding cells either. Some looked like they might be sleeping quarters; others served as storage rooms. Only a few of them appeared to be in use.

The more empty rooms he encountered, the more frustrated he got. By the time he reached the end of the first row of doors, he was grinding his teeth. They didn't have time for this! What if they were on the wrong ship? This could be a wild goose chase, and Hunk could be on the other side of the galaxy by now!

Halfway down the second row though he got lucky. He almost missed it, but when he took another look through the peephole, he spotted a large figure huddled in a corner of the room. Keith's heart almost leaped from his chest.

"Hunk!" Keith pounded on the door. "Hunk, I'm coming!"

"Keith! Did you find him?" Pidge shouted in his ear.

"Yeah, hang on." Other voices were yelling in his ear now too, but he ignored them.

The simple padlock was no match for his bayard. He shouldered the door open, and rushed to Hunk's side. Hunk was backed into a corner, arms wrapped around his knees, forehead pillowed on his arms.

"Hunk! Hunk, it's Keith, are you okay?" Keith placed a tentative hand on Hunk's shoulder.

At the sound of his voice, Hunk raised his head. "Keith?" he mumbled. His eyes were glassy and unfocused, and Keith bit his lip. Did they drug him?

"Yeah, it's Keith. I'm gonna get you out of here, all right?" He checked for injuries as best he could, before sliding Hunk's arm across his shoulders and pulling him to his feet. "C'mon, big guy, we're going home."

"Home?" Hunk slurred.

Keith scowled. If he ever got his hands on the aliens that did this to Hunk, he would kill them. "Yeah, the Castleship. Remember?"

"Castleship," Hunk echoed blankly.

Keith gritted his teeth. "Allura, what's your ETA?"

"Almost there, Keith!"

The going was slow. Hunk was doing his best to put one foot in front of the other, but he was still leaning heavily on Keith. If they were attacked now, Keith wouldn't be able to defend them properly. It occurred to him then that Hunk was only wearing his armor's undersuit.

"Hunk? Do you know where your Paladin armor is?"

"Paladin armor…? Pal-Paladin?"

Keith frowned at the sudden shift in Hunk's voice and was about to turn his head to look at him, when Hunk dug his heels in. The next thing Keith knew, the arm slung around his shoulders shifted and tightened across his throat.

"GAK- Hunk! What are you doing?"

The pressure around his throat increased as Hunk lifted Keith off his feet, and Keith gasped, dropping his bayard to grip Hunk's arm with both hands. "Hunk!" he choked out. Hunk's arm didn't budge – if anything, it squeezed even tighter.

"Keith! Keith, what's happening?" Someone was shouting in his ear. He could barely hear it over the sound of blood roaring in his ears.

"H-Hunk, s-top!" Keith kicked his legs in desperation. "G-k! Let! _GO_!" He elbowed Hunk hard in the stomach, and it was enough to get him to loosen his grip so Keith could slip out from under his arm.

There was no time to recover. Keith's feet had barely touched the floor when Hunk's fist lashed out. Keith's cheekbone exploded, and he went down like he'd been struck with a sledgehammer. By the time he'd blinked the stars away, he was on his back with Hunk on top of him. Hunk, who was just wrapping his fingers around Keith's throat.

Keith gulped. "H-Hunk! Stop!"

Hunk's glassy eyes were staring down at him. There was no emotion on his face, and that scared Keith more than anything.

And then Hunk was wringing his neck like it was nothing, and Keith gasped, eyes watering. He tried to speak, tried to plead with Hunk, but the only sound that came out was a garbled choking. His throat was being crushed and his eyes felt like they were about to pop.

Terror roared through Keith's veins. He clawed at the hands around his throat, scratched at Hunk's face, pounded his fists against Hunk's arms, but his strength was waning and his hands were beginning to slip.  

"Hunk! Let go of him!"

Allura?

"Please, Hunk, I don't want to hurt you!"

The pressure in Keith's head was mounting, darkness closing in on him now, and his arms stopped responding while his lungs screamed for oxygen.

"HUNK!"

There was a sizzle, a cry, and then the crushing weight around his neck was gone. Keith coughed and gasped and spluttered. His lungs were on _fire_.

"Keith! Keith, are you all right?"

Someone helped him roll onto his side. It took him a minute to realize it was Allura. She held him steady while he coughed up his lungs.

"Keith?" Allura asked, once Keith's breathing had normalized somewhat. "Are you all right?"

He really wasn't. His head hurt so much, and he was only realizing now that his vision was blurry and stayed that way, no matter how many times he blinked. A concussion, no doubt. His throat felt like someone had torched it, and his limbs were like weights.

"Keith?"

Rather than answer, he just nodded his head. Even that hurt.

"I'm so sorry I didn't get here sooner."

Keith swallowed and winced at the sharp pain. "'S okay," he whispered. He couldn't get his voice to work even if he wanted to. It just hurt too much.

From the corner of his eye, he spotted Hunk lying a few feet away. "Is- is he-?"

"He is just unconscious," Allura replied. "I think he may have been brainwashed."

Keith closed his eyes for a moment, gathering his strength to climb to his feet. Strong hands steadied him when he swayed.

"Keith?" Allura's face was filled with concern, and she visibly started when she got a good look at his face and neck. "Quiznak, you look _awful_. Will you be able to make it back without assistance?"

Keith gave her a curt nod. He would have to. One of them would need to carry Hunk back to their lions, and it sure wasn't going to be him.

"Very well," Allura said finally, "but please be careful." She turned to Hunk and gave him a onceover before hefting him into her arms almost effortlessly.

Keith swept his bayard off the floor and took point. Even with Pidge guiding them back, the going was slow; he got close to being overwhelmed by waves of dizziness and nausea several times, and needed to use the walls to keep himself upright.

But he soldiered on. He had to.

By the time they made it back to their lions, his legs were shaking and he was wheezing. Thank god Allura was taking Hunk back to the castle in Blue.

The world was tilting around him and he barely managed to drag himself up Red's ramp before collapsing to his knees. His brain felt like it was trying to hammer its way out of his skull, his eyes were burning and his throat was _killing_ him.

Red's concerned rumble echoed in his mind.

_I'm okay, Red. Just- need to…rest my eyes for a bit._

The cold floor was under his cheek. Red was nudging him insistently, but it was making his head hurt more so Keith swatted at him.

Someone was talking to him over the comms, but he didn't have the energy to respond. He closed his eyes and let the darkness take over.  
  


oOo  
  


The quiet scrape of a chair followed by a muttered curse made Keith peel his eyes open. He stared up at a bare, darkened ceiling and realized he was in his own bed at the castle. His throat felt tender when he swallowed, and he frowned.

Oh. Hunk had tried to kill him. Right.

"Did I wake you?"

Keith bolted upright and when he spotted Hunk sitting by his bedside, he scrambled backwards till his back hit the wall.

Hunk immediately raised his hands, palms up. "Whoa! Hey, Keith, it's okay, it's me! Like, real me! Not murderous, brainwashed me!"

Keith blinked and relaxed when he got a better look at Hunk's face. It was no longer impassive and his eyes weren't glassy anymore.

"Oh." Keith took a breath. "What- what are you doing here?"

Hunk lowered his hands. "Well. After Allura and Coran, you know, fixed me, Lance told me about what happened. You were already out of the pod by then, but Pidge said you were still really out of it and that Shiro had put you to bed, so…I asked Shiro if it was okay for me to sit with you for a while. He's right outside, by the way. You know, in case you don't- don't feel comfortable around me. An-anymore." He was tapping his thumbs together nervously, head slightly bowed.

"Hunk-"

"Keith, man, I-I just- I'm just so sorry for what I did." He looked up and Keith saw the tears in his eyes. Angry, red scratches stood out on his chin and cheeks.

"Hunk, it's—"

" _No_ ," Hunk interrupted. "It's not okay. It's _not_! I- I hurt you! I get these flashes of- of what happened, of what I was doing to you, and- and I _see_ you struggling, face all purple, and how close I came to- to actually choking you and I'm just- I- I just- I never would've forgiven myself and--"

Keith reached out and wrapped his hand around Hunk's wrist. There were scratch marks there too. " _Hey_. Hunk, look at me."

Hunk raised his head reluctantly.

"Look, you're right," Keith said. "What happened back there wasn't okay. But it also _wasn't_ your fault. You were _brainwashed_. That means by definition you weren't in control of yourself."

"But—"

"But nothing. You weren't yourself. That's all there is to it," Keith said, releasing Hunk's wrist and sitting back. "Also, you didn't actually kill me, so."

"Which I'm really glad about," Hunk said, lips quirking up a little. "Are- are you okay though?"

"I'm fine. Not a scratch on me. Unlike you. Did you get those scratches checked out?" Keith asked, gesturing at his own chin. "They look sore."

Hunk shrugged. "I figured, you know, after what I did to you..."

Keith stared. "That's dumb." He swung his feet to the floor. "C'mon, let's find Coran. He's bound to have some kind of miracle ointment."

Hunk looked at him with wide eyes, before getting up himself. He swiped an arm across his nose and sniffed.

Keith paused just inside the door. "Hey, uh. I know you were in enemy hands for two days, and if you want to talk about it… I mean, you're probably better off talking to Shiro, cos he's good at that stuff, but, you know. I'm uh…I'm here. Also."

Hunk's smile was soft and grateful.

"Thank you, Keith."

**Author's Note:**

> The prompt for this bingo fic was strangulation with Allura as the rescuer.


End file.
